I accidentally deleted my "Pictures" folder

Hi, having a mini-meltdown here, I accidentally deleted my Pictures
folder and although the file was huge I didn't have chance to press
Cancel. It said they were being permanently deleted and they are not in
my recycle bin.

I tried to do a system restore - there were 2 times available and I
chose the wrong one so when I went to try and redo it neither of the
times were there anymore.

I tried downloading recovery software, free trial but it doesn't seem
to acknowledge any files other than those in the recycle bin. I had
over 3000 pictures and I really need them back. I can't grasp why of
all the things to be PERMANENTLY deleted why these? I never get that
message when I delete anything else!

Please if anyone knows what I can do, I follow instruction really
well!!!:cry:


--
autumnberry

"autumnberry" <> wrote in message news:...
>
> Hi, having a mini-meltdown here, I accidentally deleted my Pictures
> folder and although the file was huge I didn't have chance to press
> Cancel. It said they were being permanently deleted and they are not in
> my recycle bin.
>
> I tried to do a system restore - there were 2 times available and I
> chose the wrong one so when I went to try and redo it neither of the
> times were there anymore.
>
> I tried downloading recovery software, free trial but it doesn't seem
> to acknowledge any files other than those in the recycle bin. I had
> over 3000 pictures and I really need them back. I can't grasp why of
> all the things to be PERMANENTLY deleted why these? I never get that
> message when I delete anything else!
>
> Please if anyone knows what I can do, I follow instruction really
> well!!!:cry:
>
>
> --
> autumnberry

Try a free program ? Here's one from Google:
http://www.officerecovery.com/freeundelete/

"autumnberry" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> Hi, having a mini-meltdown here, I accidentally deleted my Pictures
> folder and although the file was huge I didn't have chance to press
> Cancel. It said they were being permanently deleted and they are not in
> my recycle bin.
>
> I tried to do a system restore - there were 2 times available and I
> chose the wrong one so when I went to try and redo it neither of the
> times were there anymore.

>
> I tried downloading recovery software, free trial but it doesn't seem
> to acknowledge any files other than those in the recycle bin. I had
> over 3000 pictures and I really need them back. I can't grasp why of
> all the things to be PERMANENTLY deleted why these? I never get that
> message when I delete anything else!
>
> Please if anyone knows what I can do, I follow instruction really
> well!!!:cry:
>
>
> --
> autumnberry
>
>
First thing to do is BACK UP anything that is worth saving. There are a lot
of ways to do this. I use USB drives. Have one that I back everything up on
weekly or so. Another one about once a month and that one is kept in a fire
safe. The file you deleted was too large to go in the recycle bin. It
warned you of this, and you clicked go ahead, so it deleted them. I have
never done it, but there is software to reclaim anything on the drive that
has not been written over. If the pictures are important BUY ONE, or take
the machine to a shop that will do it for you. The longer you play around,
the less chance you have of getting back what you deleted. When done, do
some kind of back up of anything important.
--
"Everything in excess! To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites.
Moderation is for monks."
[Lazarus Long]

Try
1. Restoration(it is a zipped file)
http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html

2. FileUndelete+
http://undelete-plus.com/

3. File Scavenger
http://www.quetek.com/

And use another computer until you recover them.
Use of it is overwriting them.
--
Mick Murphy - Qld - Australia


"autumnberry" wrote:

>
> Hi, having a mini-meltdown here, I accidentally deleted my Pictures
> folder and although the file was huge I didn't have chance to press
> Cancel. It said they were being permanently deleted and they are not in
> my recycle bin.
>
> I tried to do a system restore - there were 2 times available and I
> chose the wrong one so when I went to try and redo it neither of the
> times were there anymore.
>
> I tried downloading recovery software, free trial but it doesn't seem
> to acknowledge any files other than those in the recycle bin. I had
> over 3000 pictures and I really need them back. I can't grasp why of
> all the things to be PERMANENTLY deleted why these? I never get that
> message when I delete anything else!
>
> Please if anyone knows what I can do, I follow instruction really
> well!!!:cry:
>
>
> --
> autumnberry
>

On Wed, 6 Aug 2008 10:16:49 -0500, autumnberry
<> wrote:

>
> Hi, having a mini-meltdown here, I accidentally deleted my Pictures
> folder and although the file was huge I didn't have chance to press
> Cancel. It said they were being permanently deleted and they are not in
> my recycle bin.
>
> I tried to do a system restore - there were 2 times available and I
> chose the wrong one so when I went to try and redo it neither of the
> times were there anymore.


Wouldn't have mattered. System Restore can restore the operating
System, but does nothing for your data files.


> I tried downloading recovery software, free trial but it doesn't seem
> to acknowledge any files other than those in the recycle bin. I had
> over 3000 pictures and I really need them back. I can't grasp why of
> all the things to be PERMANENTLY deleted why these? I never get that
> message when I delete anything else!


"Deleting" a file doesn't actually delete it; it just marks the space
as available to be used. There are third-party programs that can
sometimes recover deleted files. The problem is that the space used by
the file is likely to become overwritten very quickly, and this makes
the file unrecoverable.

So your chances of successfully recovering this file are decent if you
try recovering it immediately after deleting it, and rapidly go
downhill from there. If you've been using the computer since then (for
example to write this question and read this answer), your chances may
be very poor by now.

But if the file is important enough, it's worth a try anyway. Stop
using the computer in question immediately, if you haven't done so
already. Download an undelete program (here's one:
http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html but there are several
others to choose from; do a Google search) on a friend's computer and
bring it to yours on a floppy or CD to try.

If this fails, your only other recourse is to take the drive to a
professional file recovery company. This kind of service is very
expensive and may or may not work in your case.

And for the future, realize that you are *always* susceptible to
losing *everything* on your drive, for a wide variety of reasons. If
you don't always have a current backup of what's important to you, you
are playing with fire. Read this article I wrote recently: "Back Up
Your Computer Regularly and Reliably at
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=314

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:38:22 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP quoth:

>
> But if the file is important enough, it's worth a try anyway. Stop
> using the computer in question immediately, if you haven't done so
> already. Download an undelete program (here's one:
> http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html but there are several
> others to choose from; do a Google search) on a friend's computer and
> bring it to yours on a floppy or CD to try.

isn't it a bit inconsistent to tell the OP not to perturb the file-system
and then point them to installing programs on that file-system?

my own sense of it is they'd do better to remove the hard-drive and take
it to another machine where recovery software is installed, then try
their luck.

what do you think?

Felmon

On Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:40:59 -0400, Felmon <>
wrote:

> On Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:38:22 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP quoth:
>
> >
> > But if the file is important enough, it's worth a try anyway. Stop
> > using the computer in question immediately, if you haven't done so
> > already. Download an undelete program (here's one:
> > http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html but there are several
> > others to choose from; do a Google search) on a friend's computer and
> > bring it to yours on a floppy or CD to try.
>
> isn't it a bit inconsistent to tell the OP not to perturb the file-system
> and then point them to installing programs on that file-system?


It certainly is, and that's precisely why I did *not* do that. Please
reread the last portion of the sentence above: "... on a friend's
computer and bring it to yours on a floppy or CD to try."


> my own sense of it is they'd do better to remove the hard-drive and take
> it to another machine where recovery software is installed, then try
> their luck.
>
> what do you think?


I think that's certainly an alternative, but a much more complicated
one. Many, if not most, home computer users have never done anything
like this and would get intimidated by the idea of doing what you
suggest.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Two free file-recovery applications to consider are:

Recuva (from the Ccleaner people):
http://www.recuva.com/

Undelete Plus:
http://undelete-plus.com/



autumnberry wrote:
> Hi, having a mini-meltdown here, I accidentally deleted my Pictures
> folder and although the file was huge I didn't have chance to press
> Cancel. It said they were being permanently deleted and they are not in
> my recycle bin.
>
> I tried to do a system restore - there were 2 times available and I
> chose the wrong one so when I went to try and redo it neither of the
> times were there anymore.
>
> I tried downloading recovery software, free trial but it doesn't seem
> to acknowledge any files other than those in the recycle bin. I had
> over 3000 pictures and I really need them back. I can't grasp why of
> all the things to be PERMANENTLY deleted why these? I never get that
> message when I delete anything else!
>
> Please if anyone knows what I can do, I follow instruction really
> well!!!:cry:
>
>

On Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:30:27 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP quoth:

> On Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:40:59 -0400, Felmon <>
> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:38:22 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP quoth:
>>
>>
>> > But if the file is important enough, it's worth a try anyway. Stop
>> > using the computer in question immediately, if you haven't done so
>> > already. Download an undelete program (here's one:
>> > http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html but there are several
>> > others to choose from; do a Google search) on a friend's computer and
>> > bring it to yours on a floppy or CD to try.
>>
>> isn't it a bit inconsistent to tell the OP not to perturb the
>> file-system and then point them to installing programs on that
>> file-system?
>
>
> It certainly is, and that's precisely why I did *not* do that. Please
> reread the last portion of the sentence above: "... on a friend's
> computer and bring it to yours on a floppy or CD to try."

sorry I did misread (I read: "bring the program to your computer (using a
floppy or cd) and try it" as install it). you are right if the OP can run
the program off the floppy but of course just booting the system endangers
the files.

>> my own sense of it is they'd do better to remove the hard-drive and
>> take it to another machine where recovery software is installed, then
>> try their luck.
>>
>> what do you think?
>
>
> I think that's certainly an alternative, but a much more complicated
> one. Many, if not most, home computer users have never done anything
> like this and would get intimidated by the idea of doing what you
> suggest.

I think the OP is faced with a choice: do scary stuff or lose the files.

I suspect most of them are gone anyway and if the OP is not prepared to do
what is necessary out of (justified) concern about their abilities, they
really do need to go to a knowledgeable friend or some shop which won't
cost them an arm and a leg to just run some recovery software.

plus you know moving the HD isn't that scary (once one's done it).

sorry for the misinterpretation. I feel the OP's pain. it looks to be a
'learning experience'.

Felmon

> Please if anyone knows what I can do, I follow instruction really
> well!!!:cry:

You can also try to find and recover your pictures with Easy File
Undelete software:

http://www.munsoft.com/EasyFileUndelete/

It uses unique algorithms that are specifically optimized for photo
recovery. This is the reason for successful recovery of the highest
possible number of photos. And it will be possible to preview deleted
pictures before recovery.